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Experience and Loot
Experience and loot in CLC is given on a standardized basis. Each encounter run in CLC has a point value associated with it, which results in a standardized reward of EXP and gold. An adventure or encounter is rated by the number of 'points' it is worth, with each point corresponding to (roughly, and depending on GM and Player actions) a bit over an hour of gameplay. This allows for GMs to scale the effort involved with an encounter based on their own time limit and that of the players, and allows for 'spontaneous' encounter. The number of points an encounter is worth directly translates to how many EXP Points and Loot Points it is worth. e.g. a 1-point Encounter is worth 1 EXP Point and 1 Loot point. Experience Experience is delivered on a point basis determined by the value of an encounter. The number of points necessary to gain a level increases as a character levels up, similar to traditional experience systems. Experience will only be awarded to a character if the encounter being run presents an appropriate challenge level for the character. (No experience if a level 10 runs an encounter against four goblins, for instance.) However, GMs have the option, at their discretion, to allow higher level players to adventure alongside lower level players, if they account for it. Experience and level gain will appear at first to be slightly easier to achieve at lower levels, but will slow down significantly compared to traditional games as levels increase. This is intentional, and designed to at least partially compensate for level differences in the community. NOTE: Players may have multiple characters, so it's possible to have characters that adventure with different player-level groups Experience Needed to Achieve Each level Loot Everybody loves loot! Gold and items are just as valid a character advancement method as experience. But, that's also why we need to be conscious of standardizing loot at CLC, as well. It wouldn't be fair if two players who had done the same number of points of encounters were the same level, but one of them had double the loot. So, CLC has taken an approach based off of the systems used for real-world living campaigns. Instead of awarding items for adventures and encounters, players receive loot points which correspond to gold amounts, and they receive access to item purchase. This will be explained below. For now, just understand that a character will never receive an item from an adventure (Unless it's simply a roleplay tool with no gameplay mechanic advantage, that's okay.), but instead will receive gold value. Just like experience, Loot scales as a character levels up. The system is designed such that when a character gains a new level, their total character wealth should be at the value described in the 'Character Wealth by Level' table in the Core Rulebook. The value of one loot point varies by level. Loot Point Value per Level Loot Bonus Opportunities In each adventure, there will be opportunities to increase the amount of gold rewarded. Additionally, there will be opportunities to lose that bonus. This is done by the fulfillment of Bonus Conditions or Failure Conditions. Under no circumstance will a character ever receive less than the standard value of their loot points from an encounter, even if they trigger more failure conditions than bonus conditions. Every time your character accrues 10 bonus points, you may add the value of one full loot point to your character sheet. These bonus points take effect as soon as 10 are accrued, and may not be saved to cash in at a higher level. This system is designed to reward players that bring great thinking, participation, or roleplay to their encounters. CLC is a system based on player-driven roleplay, so bonuses will reward the best members of our community (in a controlled fashion). Items In order to create a fair and balanced environment while still allowing access to desired items, CLC adopts the following rules inspired by Pathfinder Societies: 1. There are some Always Available Items 2. Item Access is granted from Encounters 3. Desparate Item Purchase is available at high cost 4. Crafting is Prohibited 5. Trading and Selling Items Between Players is Prohibited. NOTE: These rules are intended to apply to items that have a real gameplay benefit. Roleplay-only items are perfectly fine to freely trade and purchase. Meaning, you may design your clothes how you wish, etc. Also, if a monster you kill was wearing a cool purple hat and you would like to take and keep it, go for it! So long as the item does not provide a gameplay benefit and is not worth an appreciable gold value, you may freely roleplay it, trade it, or whatever else. Always Available Items You may always purchase the following items or equipment so long as you’re in Suzail. * All basic armor, gear, items, and weapons from Chapter 6 of the Core Rulebook, including Small and Large-sized items. This does not include equipment made from dragonhide, but it does include equipment made from the other special materials, such as alchemical silver and cold iron (see the Special Materials section on page 154 of the Core Rulebook). * All mundane (completely nonmagical) weapons, armor, equipment, and alchemical gear found in any other source that is legal for play are considered always available. * +1 weapons (2,000 gp + 300 for the masterwork weapon cost + item cost) * +1 armor (1,000 gp + 150 for the masterwork armor cost + item cost) * +1 shields (1,000 gp + 150 for the masterwork armor cost + item cost) * Potions and oils of 0- or 1st-level spells at caster level 1st (50 gp or less) * Scrolls of 0- or 1st-level spells at caster level 1 (50 gp or less) Weapons, armor, equipment, magic items and so on that are outside of these lists are only available for purchase if an encounter record grants access to purchase the item, or if it is instead purchased at drastically increased cost. See the sections below for more information on these options. Item Access From Encounters As you complete encounters, you will be given each time an Encounter Record that details the loot and experience you've earned. This will, as described above, include experience and loot (gold), but will also feature an item access section. For each point the encounter is worth, one item will be added to the item access section. When an item appears in the item access section on any Encounter Record you've run, you may forever purchase that item at the listed 'book' price. Your GM will select items for access on their encounters so that they fit reasonably well with the theme of their encounter and also so that they are obtainable by your character in a reasonable timeframe. Desparate Item Purchase In the case where your character absolutely MUST have a certain item, but hasn't gotten access to purchase it from an Encounter Record, you may still purchase that item at an increased cost. You may purchase any item from any of the CLC legal books (But be sure to check the ban list), but if you do not have access and it is not listed in the Always Available section of this thred, you must pay 1.5x the item's price. The purpose of this is to prevent the imbalance that comes from some item combos and optimizations. Anyone who takes this option will get the item they want, but will have dipped further into their character wealth to compensate. The in-character reason for this increase is that the item is unavailable in Suzail and you're paying for the time to create the item or the time it takes to ship it from elsewhere. Crafting is Prohibited Crafting is something we all love, but the amount of tracking and GM approval involved, as well as the ability to disproportionately empower certain characters beyond their wealth level, is something that just can't work in a community based on very large amounts of players and an open door policy. Under no circumstances will crafting be allowed in Cormyr. However, if you want to roleplay your character as a crafter and claim to have crafted your items in character, that is perfectly fine, so long as the items are purchased behind the scenes at full book cost. Trading and Selling Between Players is Prohibited Again, because the first and foremost concern of CLC has to be equality and balance between a very large community of players, trading and selling items to other players, or giving them as gifts, is not allowed. The purpose here is derived from the access system. If trading were allowed, only one character would need access to an item before the whole community could effectively purchase it freely. Examples Example 1: The Noble Knight Sir Cinna of Bon has traveled all around Cormyr, vanquishing monsters and spreading his ideas for a delicious cinnamon-based dessert treat. He is a level 4 Paladin. Sir Cinna has completed 26 points worth of encounters since arriving in Suzail, and his player has all of his Encounter Records from his GMs to prove it! He's still 2 points shy of leveling up to 5th level. Sir Cinna is sitting in the Dragon's Jaws Inn, regaling a serving girl about his latest heroic deeds and dessert menu options, when two of his best friends walk in. They chat for a while, practice some fun skills on each other, and their players are having a fun time with free and open roleplay. Just then, in Out of Character Chat, a wild GM appears! He has two hours to kill, and asks the players if they want to run a quick 1-point encounter. The players agree, and the GM uses an Encounter Record to spontaneously plan a quick outing for the adventurers. The hear a crash outside the tavern and find a wounded guard complaining of Ogres in the woods! The Adventurers plug the guard for some more info, wander out to the woods, make their way through a series of ogre traps, and fight a band of ogres that have taken residence. They return to Suzail satisfied of their good deed. The GM awards each player a copy of his encounter record, which gives a general outline of what the encounter entailed. It also details that they earned one loot Bonus point on top of their 1 EXP point and 1 Loot point. Sir Cinna's player applies the XP to his total on his character sheet, making sure to write the ID of the Encounter Record next to it. Dang! Sir Cinna still needs one more EXP point to level. Oh well. He then looks to his loot point. He's currently 4th level, so he gets 450 new GP to spend! But then, he sees the Bonus point. Sir Cinna is very good at completing bonus objectives, so now he has ten bonus points accrued. That means he immediately gains an additional loot point! 450 more GP for him! Good deeds pay well. He records both 450 GP increases separately in his gold log. Like all good players, he writes the Encounter Record ID next to the first entry, and writes 'Loot Bonus' next to the second. This helps the Gms understand why he was able to afford such shiny armor. Example 2: Sir Cinna, fresh off the victory of his ogre encounter, has only just returned to the Dragon's Jaws when suddenly the player hears another Out of Character call from a different GM. This GM has about four hours to kill, and wants to run a nice 3-point encounter for the party. The players agree, and the GM uses a 3-point encounter record template to create a fresh 3-point encounter for them. This time, a strange merchant enters the Inn and tries to sell Sir Cinna an item with the royal crest on it. It's surely stolen. What will Sir Cinna do!? Long story short, he asks around town, gets lead to a seedy black market, fights some thugs, solves a riddle to enter a back room tavern, fights another set of thugs, presses one for information, find a big boss hideout, breaks through the barricaded doorway, fights the thief boss, and retrieves dozens of stolen royal artifacts! When he returns to the Dragon's Jaws, his player receives the encounter record from his GM. A 3-point adventure awards 3 EXP Points and 3 Loot Points! Awesome! That means Sir Cinna now has 30 EXP points, which puts him at 5th level. Time to level up! He adds the EXP to his log, making sure to write the encounter record ID next to it, and proceeds to level up. He also obtained 3 loot Points. Sir Cinna's player looks at the available chart and realizes that since Sir Cinna was at 4th level when the encounter occured, he receives the 450 gp value for his loot points. So, he adds it together, and lists 1350 gp in his loot log, making sure to write the Encounter Record ID next to it. Unfortunately, while Sir Cinna had three separate opportunities to earn Loot bonus points by freeing captured slaves, He was so blinded by justice and vengeance that he also accidentally burned down a market stall and kicked a puppy. He freed the three slaves as Bonus Conditions, but additionally met two failure conditions. So, he only receives one Loot Bonus Point. Since he just spent 10 last encounter, this point is simply documented on his character sheet, marked with the Encounter Record ID. 9 more to go!